Washington Center For Human Rights
From DC to the World
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsGreetings, Mr. President. Given recent media reports that you would be visiting Saudi Arabia and meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, we write to voice our great concern. Attempts to repair the United States’ relationship with the Saudi government without a genuine commitment to prioritize human rights are not only a betrayal of your […]
CategoriesStatementsOn World Refugee Day, the Washington Center for Human Rights honors both the great challenges that displaced people throughout the world continue to confront, as well as their incredible perseverance in their search of safety. Refugees play an important role in communities around the United States. Washington Center for Human Rights urges the US government […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsThousands of protestors came to the streets of Tunis on Saturday to oppose President Kais Saied’s request for a vote on a new constitution, which would consolidate his hold on power. The rally was headed by Abir Moussi, the leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and mirrored rising resistance to Saied since he took executive […]
CategoriesStatements AdvocacyUS Secretary of State Anthony Blinken blasted efforts to stifle press freedom in numerous Latin American countries on Tuesday, saying the US wants to strengthen media safety in the area with the highest number of journalist deaths. Speaking at a press freedom event before of the Summit of the Americas, a regional conference aimed at […]
CategoriesAdvocacy Country ProfileOn Wednesday, Tunisia’s president fired 57 judges, accusing them of corruption and harboring terrorists in a purge of the court that comes as he strives to rebuild the political system after solidifying one-man rule. President Kais Saied stated in a televised address that he has “offered opportunity after opportunity and warning after warning to the […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsA mass shooter indoctrinated into bigotry and antisemitism on the internet committed another act of domestic terrorism yesterday at a Buffalo market. This brutal hate crime, which left 10 people dead and three injured, is just another illustration of how networks of racial fanatics influence one other, encouraging murder and domestic terrorism. Hate-based communities on […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIsraeli and Palestinian authorities must undertake an early, thorough, and open inquiry into the assassination of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank today. According to an Al-Jazeera report, a video of the aftermath of the shooting posted on Twitter by Al-Jazeera, and multiple news outlets, Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American correspondent for […]
CategoriesAdvocacyWestern governments are implicated in supporting, and thereby strengthening, autocracies across the Arab World in a variety of legal and illegal ways. Over the last three decades, similar strategies have been pursued toward Russia, increasing President Vladimir Putin’s riches and power, culminating in his megalomaniacal invasion of Ukraine. Complicity policies toward authoritarian countries in the […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAfter weeks of speculation, the Chinese government named John Lee, a former top police officer, as Hong Kong’s future leader on April 8. Hong Kong was once the sole Chinese-controlled region holding semi-democratic elections. They are no longer in use in Beijing. Instead of a genuine election, Hong Kong residents are instead treated to a […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsAt a time when democracy is under attack all across the world, American politicians should be concerned about the assault on Tunisia’s democratic institutions. The Biden administration should do a lot more to send a message to President Saied that international recognition and help would be conditional on democratic conduct. The United States and its […]
CategoriesStatementsThree anti-corruption organizations encouraged the internal watchdogs of the US Treasury and State Departments to examine the US government’s improper move to essentially ease sanctions on billionaire businessman Dan Gertler right before the change of US administrations. Mr. Gertler was sanctioned by the Trump administration in 2017 under the Global Magnitsky Act for his alleged […]
CategoriesStatementsAsylum-Seekers are being locked up as a result of policies implemented by the Biden administration, and human rights are being violated. The first records show that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has detained tens of thousands of asylum seekers in jails, where they face long detentions, severe physical and psychological suffering, medical negligence, discrimination, […]
CategoriesStatementsWhile Washington Center for Human Rights applauds rumors of a special parole program for Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression, the center urges the Biden administration to undertake similar humanitarian protection efforts for Afghans and others across the world facing human rights violations and persecution. The establishment of a Ukrainian special parole program to welcome Ukrainians escaping […]
CategoriesBriefsHuman rights standards, frameworks, and discourses are always changing. It is critical that they adapt in order to respond to new and emerging concerns and dangers, as well as to confront entrenched but sometimes invisible power, discrimination, and privilege. This progress may be seen in how human rights norms and processes are being utilized and […]
CategoriesAdvocacy Country Profile StatementsThe situation in Saudi Arabia has deteriorated since the previous UN Human Rights Council joint statement on human rights in September 2020. Although a number of prominent women human rights campaigners and political prisoners were conditionally freed, they remain subject to harsh restrictions, implying that they are not yet free. According to ALQST for Human […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIn March 2021, the Human Rights Council voted Resolution 46/2, which strengthened the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s monitoring mandate on the human rights situation in Nicaragua. On March 7, Bachelet delivered to the Council her Office’s (the OHCHR) written report, in which she concludes to a ‘pattern of egregious abuses of civil […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsThe General Assembly has required that members of the Human Rights Council respect human rights and has created criteria and a mechanism to protect the Council. The Human Rights Council is made up of 47 member states chosen by the UN General Assembly’s 193 members. Members of the HRC are obligated by UN General Assembly […]
CategoriesTopics Country ProfileRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the worst humanitarian disaster Europe has seen in decades. With hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the escalating crisis, neighboring nations and international organizations are joining together to denounce Russia’s aggression and give assistance to the growing number of refugees. According to the UN refugee agency, 10 million […]
CategoriesAdvocacy Country Profile StatementsIn addition to focusing on Russia’s war in Ukraine, the 49th session of the Human Rights Council began with severe concerns raised about China’s human rights problems. High-level officials from France, New Zealand, and the United States have encouraged UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to disclose her Office’s report on the Uyghur […]
CategoriesCountry Profile TopicsAt least 38 businessmen or officials linked to Mr. Putin own dozens of properties in Dubai collectively valued at more than $314 million, according to previously unreported data compiled by the nonprofit Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Six of those owners are under sanctions by the United States or the European Union, and another oligarch […]
CategoriesAdvocacyWashington Center for Human Rights applauds the Biden Administration’s designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainian nationals and reiterates requests for TPS for people of Cameroon, Mauritania, and other non-European nations. Human rights and immigrant rights organizations have frequently sought for TPS designations for various African, Central American, and Asian countries that fit the […]
CategoriesStatementsGlobal news organizations claimed they were stopping reporting in Russia to safeguard their journalists following the introduction of a new law that threatens up to 15 years in prison for distributing “fake news.” The BBC said that it had temporarily discontinued reporting in Russia, and Canadian Broadcasting Company and Bloomberg News had also announced that […]
The Washington Center for Human Rights firmly condemns Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked military invasion into Ukraine.We strongly condemn Russian violence in Ukraine, as well as Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Many intelligence officers have been predicting this scenario for months, and it is now unfolding in real time. While Russia has a history of aggression […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIn view of the current humanitarian crises and violent conflicts in Cameroon, Washington Center for Human Rights encourages President Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to grant Cameroon Temporary Protected Status (TPS). If compelled to return to their home country, an estimated 40,000 Cameroonians living in the United States face horrific violence, displacement, and death. […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsThe House of Representatives passed House Bill No. 10576, known as the Human Rights Defenders Act, on its third and final reading on January 17, 2022. The proposed legislation was passed by 200 members of the House, with no abstentions or votes against it. The House had previously accepted the Bill in 2019, but the […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsThe Biden administration is contemplating an extended home detention and curfew pilot program for immigrants seeking asylum or other protection in U.S. immigration courts, according to Axios. National Immigration Project (NIPNLG), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Detention Watch Network, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Black Alliance […]
CategoriesAdvocacyOn the eve of the six-month anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, a coalition of military veterans and Afghan friends urged Congress to act immediately to help refugees by approving the Afghan Adjustment Act. The gathering, organized by the Evacuate Our Allies alliance, gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the Biden administration to guarantee […]
CategoriesStatementsHuman Rights Watch said today that Indian authorities are using politically motivated claims of tax evasion and financial irregularities to suppress human rights activists, journalists, and other opponents of the government. Authorities monetary officers raided journalists’ residences, news offices, an actor’s premises, and the home and office of a human rights activist in September 2021 […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAmnesty International said today, on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the massacre, that the Egyptian authorities have failed to hold a single member of security forces accountable for the deaths of at least 900 people during the violent dispersal of sit-ins in Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda squares. Twelve individuals are facing execution, and […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsAfghans who are at risk of being persecuted by advancing Taliban troops require immediate evacuation and international protection. Foreign countries should make obtaining visas and assisting in the safe transit of civilians who may be targeted for abuse by the Taliban due to their former employment or status, as well as their close family members, […]
CategoriesStatementsAccording to Amnesty International, Iranian security forces used unlawful force, including mass arrests, to mercilessly suppress mostly peaceful rallies that erupted across the country in recent weeks. Activists, protestors, and onlookers, including children, have been subjected to enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment as a result of the surge of arrests. Security personnel unlawfully fired […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAuthorities in Russia have degraded the right to freedom of peaceful assembly by employing increasingly restrictive regulations, heavy-handed police methods, and criminal prosecutions to stifle peaceful opposition, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing. The group examines how the crackdown on peaceful protests, which began with the Federal Law on Assemblies in 2004, has […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIn a case generally perceived as retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior Huawei executive wanted by the US, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in jail on Wednesday. Spavor was sentenced to prison for espionage and exporting state secrets overseas, according to the Dandong City Intermediate People’s Court. The […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsI n a case generally perceived as retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior Huawei executive wanted by the US, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in jail on Wednesday. Spavor was sentenced to prison for espionage and exporting state secrets overseas, according to the Dandong City Intermediate People’s Court. […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIn response to the spiralling violence in Southeast Nigeria, security forces have committed a slew of human rights violations and crimes under international law, waging a repressive campaign that has included sweeping mass arrests, excessive and unlawful force, torture, and other ill-treatment since January. The armed group known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAmnesty International has uncovered that Iranian authorities secretly executed a young guy who was a minor at the time of his detention and had spent nearly a decade on death row. On the morning of August 2, Sajad Sanjari was hanged in Dizelabad jail in Kermanshah province, but his family was not informed until a […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsOn Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, repeating a plea for human rights progress. Blinken and the Saudi minister discussed regional security, the attack last month on the tanker Mercer Street in the Arabian Sea, which Washington blames on Iran, and other regional matters, […]
CategoriesAdvocacyKrystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was kicked off the Belarusian team after criticizing her coaches in the Tokyo Olympics, is auctioning a medal from the 2019 European Games to support athletes who claim they have been targeted by authorities. On Aug. 1, Belarusian team officials took the 24-year-old to Tokyo’s Haneda airport against her will, a day […]
CategoriesStatements AdvocacyWith the parliamentary elections in Russia scheduled for September 19, every day brings new stories of arbitrary arrests, interrogations, and other attacks on critical voices. The Kremlin’s war on free expression claimed three fresh lives lately. After Roskomnadzor, the government’s communications regulatory organization, suspended their websites, independent news groups MBKh-Media, Open Media, and Open Rights […]
CategoriesStatementsHuman Rights Watch said today that Sri Lankan police are increasingly killing and abusing people under the pretext of Covid-19 pandemic efforts and an anti-drug campaign. Extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary incarceration have all been documented in the media recently. The government should re-establish independent police oversight and investigate and prosecute allegations of police misconduct. […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAfter authorities arrested another opposing lawmaker ahead of elections later this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of pursuing additional undemocratic, dictatorial acts. Blinken claimed in a statement on Saturday that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, were trying to keep power “at all costs” by disqualifying […]
CategoriesStatementsAccording to Human Rights Watch, Taliban militants advancing in Ghazni, Kandahar, and other Afghan provinces have summarily killed captured soldiers, police officers, and civilians with alleged connections to the Afghan government. Taliban forces have allegedly identified individuals who served with the Afghan National Security Forces in places they invade, according to locals from several districts. […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAs the presidential election in November approaches, President Daniel Ortega’s regime has increased harassment and indictments against government critics. The legislature passed a bill in October mandating businesses and individuals who accept financing from outside the country to register as foreign agents. The law prohibits such foreign agents from meddling in internal or external political […]
CategoriesAdvocacyIn the six months following the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military junta has committed various atrocities against the civilians that amount to crimes against humanity, according to Human Rights Watch. Millions of people have come to the streets all around the country to peacefully protest the military coup, calling for a restoration to a […]
CategoriesStatementsSince the beginning of the Anglophone conflict in late 2016, government troops have routinely violated human rights during security operations against armed separatists trying to establish an independent Anglophone state known as Ambazonia. “New abuses in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions by both government security forces and armed separatists highlight the urgent need to protect communities at […]
CategoriesStatementsEleven Democratic senators have asked Joe Biden’s administration to denounce the alleged continued pattern of human rights breaches under the Duterte government at the highest levels. Senators voiced concerns about the human rights situation in the Philippines in a letter dated July 26 sent to US State Secretary Antony Blinken, and asked a number of […]
CategoriesAdvocacyFollowing Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s controversial re-election on August 9, Belarusian security forces unjustly imprisoned thousands of people and subjected hundreds to torture and other forms of ill-treatment in an attempt to thwart the demonstrations. The abuse, on the other hand, simply helped to inflame public resentment as thousands of people continued to march peacefully in support […]
CategoriesAdvocacyThe use of torture and forced confessions is widespread in Iraq’s criminal justice system, and authorities carry out countless judicial executions despite major due process abuses. Authorities employed a variety of defamation and incitement provisions in Iraqi legislation to silence dissidents, including journalists, activists, and protestors. Students who were kept out of school for months […]
CategoriesAdvocacyThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) government continues to invest in strategy with the goal of portraying the country as liberal, tolerant, and rights-respecting. Yet, with the prolonged imprisonment of major human rights defender Ahmed Mansour, academic Nasser bin Ghaith, and other activists and dissidents, the country’s extreme intolerance of criticism was on full display. Some […]
CategoriesAdvocacySaudi Arabia supposedly began the war in Yemen to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula, which borders the strategically important Bab al Mandab straits. Nearly six years later, the war has given Iran just that, as well as causing the world’s largest humanitarian disaster. When the Houthi rebels agreed to enable […]